Original Title: Lost Causes

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Goodreads rating: 4.18 with 468 ratings (as of 6/17/2019)

Kira Bennett’s earliest memories are of living alone and wild in the woods. She has no idea how long she was on her own or what she had to do to survive, but she remembers the moment that Cady Bennett and one of her search-and-rescue dogs found her perfectly. Adopted into the Bennett family, Kira still struggles with human interaction years later, but she excels at the family business: search-and-rescue. Along with Cady’s son, Jude, and their neighbor, Free, Kira works alongside Cady to train the world’s most elite search-and-rescue dogs. Someday, all three teenagers hope to put their skills to use, finding the lost and bringing them home..…more

200 Word Review

The Lovely and the Lost is the first novel I read by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. Considering she published almost 30 novels in genres I usually read, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, and Young Adult, that is surprising.

In it, we are introduced to the Bennett family. Cady, the mother, is one of the best search and rescuers who also trains search and rescue dogs. Her son is Jude and her adopted daughter, Kira, was found by Cady in the woods many years ago. Rounding out the family is Phoebe, who prefers to be called Free, the 3rd in the teen’s close-knit trio. The story focuses on a search and rescue and gives some detail on how to tray search and rescue dogs. All of the teens work with the dogs and are training to be search and rescuers.

The Young Adult novel is well thought out and well-written. The characters are flawed, show their limitations, their strengths, and feel real. While it would be enjoyable for all readers of YA, I feel middle school students would enjoy it the most.

I will definitely read one of Jennifer Lynn Barnes’s series. As of 6/17/19, Goodreads lists 7 series.

This review was published on Philomathinphila.com, Smashbomb, Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble on 6/17/19. When available, the review will be published on Scribd.com and, using Overdrive, will be rated in 9 libraries.

Genre: Young Adult, Fiction, Thriller
Print Length: 328 pages
ISBN: 9781484776209
Publisher: Freeform
Publication Date: May 6, 2019

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